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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. % 






i Chaplain of ttie Revolution. 



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CARLTON A. STAPLES. 



Reprinted from the Unitarian Review of April, 1891. 



^ 



A CHAPLAIN OF THE REVOLUTION. 



My story opens after the manner of Mr. G. P. R. James, 
with a solitary horseman making his way through the wil- 
derness of Western Massachusetts and New Hampshire, to 
join the patriot army at the old fortress of Ticonderoga, in 
August, 177G. Rev. Enos Hitchcock, then a young man of 
thirty-one, was colleague pastor with Rev. Mr. Chipman of 
a Congregational church in Beverly, a native of Springfield, 
and a graduate of Harvard in the Class of 1767. Ijike most 
young men of that period, he was an ardent patriot, and 
threw himself into the contest with Great Britain with the 
enthusiasm of a generous nature. He had been appointed 
chaplain of Colonel Learned's regiment, and was subse- 
quently promoted to the chaplaincy of General Patterson's 
brigade. In following his fortunes through the war of the 
Revolution and in the pastorate of the First Congregational 
Society in Providence, I shall make free use of his manu- 
script diaries, kept on interleaved almanacs, and preserved 
in the archives of the Rhode Island Historical Society. 
The brief entries from day to day on these stained and yel- 
low leaves bring home tP us the events of that great strug- 
gle more vividly than the formal pages of the historian. 
We catch glimpses, here and there, of the discipline of the 
army and of the trials and joys of the men, which are found 
only in the narratives of an eye-witness and active partici- 
pant. 

Mr. Hitchcock makes his way from settlement to settle- 
ment by roads that were mere cart-paths cut through the 
woods, spending the night with some brother minister or a 
lonely backwoodsman, and living on such fare as he picks 



up by the way or as he carries in his knapsack, well filled at 
home. At Charlestown, N.H., he overtakes the regiment, 
and marches with it to the fort, in command of General 
Gates, reaching the end of the long journey on the night of 
the twelfth day. Here comfortable quarters were provided 
for him, and here nearly a year of his service was passed. 
The day after his arrival was Sunday, and he expected to 
hold religious services morning and afternoon ; but, as the 
rain poured down in torrents through the day, they were 
omitted. However, the gloomy day did not interfere with a 
sumptuous dinner, where the viands were neither scant nor 
unsavory. The chaplain dined with Major Hays, Colonels 
Maxwell, Sinclair, Baldwin, and others, on these dishes: 
" Boiled tongue, ham, calf's pate, squash, green peas and 
beans, roast veal, goose, and pig, cucumbers, rice pudding, 
custard and cheese and wine and punch in plenty ! " A 
pleasing picture this of the good things which awaited him 
after his long march in the wilderness, when " raw salt pork 
and salt fish " sometimes formed the chief bill of fare. 

This first dinner at Ticonderoga was not altogether ex- 
ceptional. 

August 15. Dined with Generals Gates, Bricket, and others, on a very 
high hill in the woods over against the point [the hill afterwards 
known as ]Mount Defiance, which Burgoyne seized and thus compelled 
the evacuation of Ticonderoga. The American officers had pronounced 
it inaccessible to artillery, and left it unguarded. Mr.' Hitchcock does 
not recite the bill of fare. Doubtless, it was abundant and toothsome.] 

August 16. Dined at home on a good sirloin of roast beef, with green 
peas, and read "The Good and Bad Mother." — 17. Went over the 
ground where the battle of 1758 was fought, and found several human 
bones, pieces of shells, and one ball. Dined at home on roast beef. A 
duel was fought to-day between two Southern officers. Read " The Shep- 
herdess of the Alps," a moral tale. 

August 18. This day, Sunday, arrived my chest with the tents. The 
regiment preparing to pitch them could not parade for service, and so I 
preached in the afternoon on Mount Independence for Mr. Spring to 
Colonels Stark's and Poor's regiments. — 19. Walked to the mills and to 
the northern end of Lake Geoi'ge, where Lord Ilowe fell in 1758. Dined 
at home on pork, green peas, and roast beef, and spent the afternoon in 
reading "The Happy Divorce" and "Annelete and Lubin," — moral 
tales. — 20. Dined at home on stewed pork and green peas. Prayed 



with the regiment for the first time. — 23. Passed the day in reading 
" The Mystery of Abiuia," — Montague. Dined largely ou fine roast pig 
and boiled head with Revs. Emerson [William Emerson, the grandfather 
of R. W. Emerson, who died a few weeks after this] and Mr. Spring. 

June 5. Colonel Hale dined with us npon fish and venison steak. 
Officers turn out to exercise, agreeable to orders. Drank tea with Major 
Hall. Headache, no prayers. — 6lh. Happened to lie in bed this morn- 
ing till almost eight o'clock. Slept very sound after a fine supper of ven- 
ison steaks. This may seem strange, but it cured my headache. Dined 
on roast veal, stuft. (A soldier was set on the gallows for half an 
hour, and received one hundred lashes for enlisting twice and de- 
serting.) 

These tempting bills of fare show that the patriots of the 
Revolution at the opening of the war lived quite luxuri- 
ously. 

The fortress of Ticonderoga, captured by Ethan Allen 
and his Green Mountain boys a few months before, was 
situated on the west shore of the lake, near the point where 
the waters of Lake George unite with those of Lake Clmm- 
plain. It was supposed to command the passage between 
the lakes, and was regarded as the key to the Hudson and 
New York from the Canadian frontier. Li the French and 
Indian War this was the grand objective point, and in its 
neighborhood the most desperate and bloody battles were 
fought. For miles around there may still be traced the 
graves of men who perished here, where France and Eng- 
land contended for the mastery of the American continent. 
Mount Independence, on the eastern shore, opposite Ticon- 
deroga, was strongly fortified ; and its green slopes are 
furrowed with soldiers' graves. Here were the hospitals of 
General Gates's army ; and here Chaplain Hitchcock was a 
faithful attendant upon the sick and dying. 

The troops had been hastily gathered from the farms 
and workshops of the country. Wholly unused to camp 
life, and ignorant of the ordinary means of guarding against 
sickness, they were soon attacked by diseases incident to 
army experience; and hundreds were laid at rest from war's 
alarms on the shores of the beautiful lake. Mr. Hitchcock 
was devoted to his duties in these scenes of suffering and 



death. He usually offered prayer with the regiment at 
evening parade, and during the day visited the hospitals to 
cheer the sick, receive the last messages of the dying, and 
hold funeral services over the dead laid in graves which 
their kindred and friends would never behold. He often 
gives the names of the dead, the company or regiment to 
which they belonged, and sometimes the places from which 
they came. The mention of savory dinners is not so fre- 
quent after these scenes of suffering thicken around him ; 
but he seems never unappreciative of creature comforts, 
and speaks of them with evident satisfaction. " A fine 
breast of roast venison," "a nice piece of roast wild-pig," 
"a fine venison dinner," "a stuffed leg of veal," "dined 
with General Gates after service," or " with Rev. Mr. Em- 
erson of Concord," are expression's frequently met on these 
pages, intermingled with alarms of pickets and encounters 
of ships on the lake, the names of the dead, letters from 
home, work on new redoubts, and texts of Sunday sermons, 
of which there were generally two. 

Thus passed the autumn and winter of 1776 at Ticonder- 
oga. Little was attempted in offensive or defensive opera- 
tions. A few skirmishes occurred with prowling bands of 
Indians, and a few slight encounters with the enemy on 
the lake. Some new works were commenced, and a bridge 
built from the eastern to the western shore, connecting the 
fort with Mount Independence. ' An eas}^ indolent security 
prevailed. The real key to Lake George and the head- 
waters of the Hudson was left unguarded ; and in the sum- 
mer of 1777, when Burgoyne advanced from Canada to take 
possession of the lakes and the valley of the Hudson, Ti- 
conderoga fell without firing a gun. The British engineers 
scaled Mount Defiance in a single night, and planted their 
artillery on its summit, compelling the evacuation of all the 
American works. Thus a most important position was lost; 
and a hundred and thirty pieces of heavy artillerj^ with 
large stores of provisions, fell into the hands of the enemy. 
The way was now open for the British army to advance 
into New York and New England. General Gates's army 



retreated in confusion and dismay ; while the Indians liung 
upon the rear and flanks, snatching up every straggler and 
putting him to the tomahawk. 

Chaplain Hitchcock briefly describes the scenes of dis- 
tress and horror which attended the retreat. On arriving 
at Fort Ann on the 7th of July, a council w'as called, which 
decided to destroy the fort, and push on to Fort Edward, 
sixteen miles distant. Accordingly, they marched on in a 
heavy rain, the enemy pressing them close and hard through 
the day. At Fort Edward they had hoped to make a 
stand; but General Gates, distrusting his ability to offer 
any serious resistance to Burgoyne, continued his retreat to 
Saratoga, and finally to Stillwater on the Hudson. Mr. 
Hitchcock had now become chaplain of Patterson's brigade, 
retaining this position to. the close of the war ; and it gave 
him an inside view of the movements of the army. He was 
present at councils where plans of battles were discussed 
and an advance or retreat determined, and often met with 
Generals Gates, Schuyler, Nixon, St. Clair, Lincoln, Glover, 
and Arnold. He records many instances of Indian outrage 
on the line of march. Whole families were butchered in 
cold blood by the fiends in human form whom Burgoyne 
had attached to his army, but whom he could not control. 
The scout, straggler, or exposed picket was liable to be shot 
down and scalped at any moment. Consternation filled the 
country around. Not a morning passed without bringing 
its stories of people scalped at their own firesides or killed 
while fleeing from the invisible foe. We have often read 
the history of Burgoyne's campaign, and know something of 
the enormities of savage warfare attending it ; but, looking 
through these brief notes of Chaplain Hitchcock's diary, and 
seeing the daily record of the men, women, and children pht 
to death in the most barbarous manner, wherever the army 
moved, we feel that the histories have not told half the 
truth. 

Who does not remember the piteous story of poor Jennie 
McCrea, related at every New England fireside? Here it 
is noted down, apparently, on the very day when the awful 



tragedy occurred. She was a farmer's daughter, living in 
the vicinity of Fort Edward, where her grave is still to be 
seen. Her people had fled to Albany ; but she lingered in 
the neighborhood, hoping to meet the young man — a neigh- 
bor's son — to whom she was betrothed. Being a Tory, he 
had joined the invading army in Canada, and was serving 
as an officer. Under date of July 26 the diary reads : 
" Four of the picket-guard were killed to-night, and scalped. 
The guard retreated, and were pursued within forty rods of 
the fort. Two women were seized in a house, killed, 
scalped, and the body of one mangled in a most inhuman 
manner." On the following day he adds : " The two 
women were Jennie McCrea and Widow Campbell. They 
were going to meet the enemy .for protection, when the Ind- 
ians came upon them and inhumanly butchered them." 
The scalp of Jennie was brought into the British camp, and 
recognized by her lover from the long silken tresses. The 
two women were preparing that morning " to depart for 
Albany, when the Indians broke into the house for pillage. 
In the alarm, Jennie besought them to take her to the 
British camp for protection, promising them a great reward 
of fire-water. In the quarrel that ensued over the division 
of the coveted prize, both were put to death. 

This story of Jennie McCrea, and a hundred others like 
it, roused a spirit in New England homes which Burgoyne's 
well-dvfsciplined army could not overcome. Thousands 
flocked to the standard of Stark and Warner at Benninff- 
ton, where they crushed General Baum. Burgoyne soon 
found himself hemmed in li^' the stout yeomanry on every 
side, and could neither advance nor retreat. His Indian 
allies deserted him, the elements seemed in league against 
him, and he was compelled to surrender to the men whom 
he affected to despise. Chaplain Hitchcock was present at 
many of the skirmishes and battles. He records the first 
overtures of Burgoyne for terms of capitulation, and de- 
scribes the final surrender. He tells of the unbounded 
enthusiasm of the patriot army when they knew that their 
work was finished. Yet pity for a fallen foe checked all 



exultation. When the British troops marched out and hiid 
down tlieir arms, no jeering, taunting, or boasting was 
heard. 

After the surrender Mr. Hitchcock took a furlough, and 
came on to Boston with the captured army. In the 
spring of 1778 he rejoined his brigade at Valley Forge, 
just at the close of that dreadful winter of suffering and 
death. Here he records a general order of the commander- 
in-chief, directing "that divine service be performed every 
Sunday at eleven o'clock, in each brigade where there is a 
chaplain ; and those which have not, will attend the place of 
worship nearest them. It is expected that officers of all 
ranks will, by their attendance, set an example to their men. 
While we are performing the duty of good citizens and 
soldiers, we ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties 
of religion. To the distinguished character of a patriot, it 
should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished 
character of a Christian." Then follows a second general 
order, announcing the alliance between the United States 
and France. The several brigades were ordered to assemble 
at 9 A.M., when their chaplains were to offer a thanksgiving, 
and deliver a discourse suitable to the occasion. 

May 6. Agreeable to yesterday's orders, Learned's and our brigade 
assembled. I harangued them on the object of the contest, the many 
interesting interpositions of Providence, and especially that which we 
were now celebrating, as demanding our gratitude. The cannon fired at 
twelve o'clock for a feu dejoie. Thirteen cannon were discharged : then 
a running fire began at the right in the front line, and ran to the left, 
and from the left to the right in the rear line. Then, at the fire of a 
cannon from the park, they huzzaed, " Long live the King of France ! " 
and the artillery fired again ; then another huzza, " Long live the 
friendly European powers ! " another cannon, a huzza, " To the Ameri- 
can States ! " General Washington invited all the officers of the army 
to refresh themselves, for which purpose booths were built. . 

Thus the terrible winter at Valley Forge ends in rejoic- 
ing. Nothing is said now about " fine venison steaks," or 
" roast pig and green peas, with plenty of wine and punch." 
Washington had banished wine from his table from motives 



8 

of economy ; and the diary says, " In five days we have 
drawn only one day's meat." 

June If,. This morning at guard- mounting one Schanks was executed. 
He was taken as a spy day before yesterday. He had been an ensign in 
our service, and, being broke for theft, he ran to the enemy and was out 
as a spy. This day the whole array left the huts, their winter camp. 

Now began the retreat of the British army from Phila- 
delphia to New York through the Jerseys. Washington 
pressed the enemy hard and close, being determined to bring 
on a general engagement at the first favorable moment. 
Leaving behind all baggage, and at last dropping their knap- 
sacks, by forced marches the Americans gained forty miles 
on the British, and encountered them at Monmouth on Sun- 
day, the 28th of June. The weather was intensely hot, and 
the suffering of the men was fearful. It was a long and 
desperate fight. General Lee, commanding the second line 
of battle, was opposed to making the attack, and sought to 
prevent it. As soon as the first line, composed of militia, 
broke and fell back, he gave the order to retreat. Washing- 
ton met him with his command in the utmost disorder and 
confusion. We may well believe that his words were more 
forcible than polite. " What does this mean. General Lee?" 
thundered Washington. Possibly he swore: he sometimes 
did, when the provocation was very great. His wrath, said 
one of the officers, was something awful. But he stopped 
the retreat. He reformed the lines and renewed the attack. 
Under his eye, the soldiers bore themselves like veterans, 
and the enemy was compelled to give way. 

It was a glorious repulse [says the chaplain] of an army that never 
ran before. Our loss is uncertain, but I believe more died through the 
uncommon heat than in the action. Last night the army encamped on 
the field in open dirt. This morning I rode down to Monmouth Court 
House, and viewed the field of battle. The dead were thick strowu near 
three miles. Many of the enemy, as well as ours, appear to have died of 
heat, the intenseness of which exceeded what I have ever felt for several 
days. It is thought that the British had six or seven thousand in the 
action. Morgan is now pushing them, and with his light troops harass- 
ing their rear. One circumstance which adds lustre to this victory is 
that in the excessive heat of summer, in a country badly watered, we 



pursued and overtook them by a march forty miles longer than theirs. 
This day we remained on the ground, parched with heat. General 
orders given for the army to parade at seven in the evening, and offer 
up thanksgiving to God for the success of our arms. Colonel Ramsey, 
who was taken in the action, came out on parade. He says that Clinton 
commanded in person, and they were surprised to see with what courage 
and regularity our men fought, that they were not apprehensive of Gen- 
eral Washington's army beiug so near, that they did not expect an 
action, and sought to avoid it. 
July 1. General Lee arrested! 

This was at the request of Lee himself, who demanded a 
court-martial on the charge of misbehavior in the presence 
of the enemy. He was deeply offended at Washington's 
language to him on the field of Monmouth, and never for- 
gave it. Though acquitted by the court-martial, he soon 
retired from the army and never resumed service. 

After the battle of Monmouth, Washington moved to the 
North, part of the armj^ resting upon the Hudson in the 
vicinity of West Point, and part remaining in the Jerseys 
about Morristown, where they finally went into winter 
quarters. • The discipline of the army became more and 
more stringent as the war went on, especially when the 
troops were under the eye of the commander-in-chief. He 
permitted no pilfering from the inhabitants of the country, 
and tolerated no outrage. 

August 17. This morning, after guard-mounting, eleven men [whose 
names are given] were brought out for execution, for deserting and re- 
sisting an officei-. One was shot, and the others respited until Friday. 

Again we have these curious incidents: — 

Last night some waggoners attempted to maraud a hog of an inhabi- 
tant,— he, defending himself, shot a soldier dead on the spot. This 
afternoon was executed at four o'clock David Hall of the Pennsylvania 
line for robbing an inhabitant. He with three others blacked themselves 
and entered the house in the night, bound the men and made the women 
show them where the most valuable articles were. But the neighbors 
rallied, pursued and caught this man, and upon conviction he was sen- 
tenced to suffer death. The adjutant-general sent to request me to at- 
tend him. I did. Found the poor unhappy man somewhat affected by 
his case, but he did not seem to be acquainted with religion. As the poor 
fellow was going to the place of execution, a number of women came to 



10 

bid him farewell ; and one, seizing him with both her hands, said, " Great 
luck to you, David." The troops advanced near Paulus Hook [now 
Jersey City] were ordered to march by the soldier taken from the ranks 
and executed for marauding the inhabitants; and as they passed, one of 
his comrades slapped the body, and said : " Well Jack, you are best off 
of any of us. It won't come your turn to be hanged again, this ten 
year." . . . An officer shrewdly observed that the reason why General 
Gates was so fond of the militia was because he knew that the regular 
troops would lead him into fire, but there was no danger of the militia 
doing it. 

This was after Gates had fallen into disgrace at the South 
and been displaced in command by General Greene. But 
similar contemptuous reflections upon the militia are found 
on several pages of the diary. 

Washington sometimes notifies the chaplain that he in- 
tends to be present at the Sunday service in his brigade, — 
perhaps to give the chaplain opportunity to prepare a better 
sermon than usual. The general was an attentive listener 
to preaching, and appeared reverential and devout at relig- 
ious services. Evidently, the chaplain thought some of the 
general officers were not altogether sound iu the faith : — 

August 29. Divine service. Present, his Excellency General Wash- 
ington and suite; also. Generals Putnam, Heath, Greene, and Knox. 
A sermon on the truth of Christianity might not be amiss. 

But I hasten to touch upon another interesting scene 
in Mr. Hitchcock's army experience. Portions of four years 
were passed either with the garrison at West Point or with 
the army in its immediate neighborhood, defending the pas- 
sage of the Hudson. He thus marched up and down the 
river, and saw the attacks of the British on the forts, the 
capture of Stony Point by mad Anthony Wayne, and the 
execution of Major Andrd. While Washington was visiting 
Count Rochambeau at Hartford, the army was lying in the 
vicinity of King's Ferry; and here we have the following 
entries : — 

Sept. 26, 1780. This morning General Wayne marched his brigade 
at one o'clock. The occasion of this suddeu move was the news of a Brit- 
ish officer, said to be an adjutant-general, being taken on his way from 
West Point to a ship below Croton by three inhabitants, who discovered 



11 

plans of the works and the state of the garrison and other papers which 
detected the treasonable designs of General Arnold. 

28. This evening his Excellency returned, to the great joy of the 
army, after an absence of twelve days, a longer period than he has been 
absent since he took the important command, except in winter. Mr. 
Andre, the British adjutant-general, and Mr. Smith brought down under 
a proper guard. 

29. A band of general officers set on the trial of Andrd. Smith's 
case referred to a court-martial. 

30. Andre found guilty. 

October 1. Sunday. Divine service at ten o'clock, preach from Ps. 
122 : 6, 7, 8. The execution of Major Andrd appointed at five o'clock, 
but a little before the time a flag arrived from General Clinton, desiring 
to have the execution postponed till he could send another, with some 
proposal for saving him. The execution deferred for the present. 

October 2. At twelve o'clock this day was executed Major Andre. 
He received his fate with greater apparent fortitude than others saw it. 
He appeared a most genteel young fellow, handsomely dressed in his 
regimentals. When he came to the gallows, he said he well knew his 
fate, but was disappointed in the mode. He ascended the wagon cheer- 
fully, fixed the halter round his own neck, and bound his eyes with his 
handkerchief. Said, smiling, "A few moments will settle the whole." 
Was asked if he had anything to say. Lifting up the handkerchief that 
covered his eyes, he said, " Gentlemen, you will bear me witness that I 
meet my fate like a brave man." Behold the end of human greatness, 
— a young fellow cut off in the midst of the brightest prospects by the 
hand of the common hangman ! 

During a furlough in 1780 Mr. Hitchcock preached for a 
few Sundays in Providence, R.I., for the First Congrega- 
tional Society. After his return to the army he received 
an invitation to the pastorate, which he finally accepted. 
He procured a substitute, and was installed as pastor in 
October, 1783. Here the remainder of his life was passed 
in an active and fruitful ministry of twenty years. He 
brought to his work a fair degree of intellectual ability and 
culture and a large experience in practical affairs. He was 
instrumental in establishing a system of free public schools 
in the town, and heartily interested in their prosperity. He 
wrote and published several works of some importance upon 
education, agriculture, and the Lord's Supper, a catechism 
for the children of his parish, and a novel in two volumes, 
entitled " Memoirs of the Bloomsbury Family." He took 



12 

great interest in the officers and soldiers of the Revolution, 
and was active in settling their claims against the govern- 
ment. He was one of the founders of the Society of the 
Cincinnati, first chaplain of the Rhode Island order, and a 
frequent preacher at its meetings. He succeeded in having 
a new and elegant house of worship erected for his congre- 
gation: it was one of the most costly and beautiful church 
edifices in New England. Though a liberal in religion, re- 
jecting the Westminster Confession of Faith and preaching 
a Christianity of good works and personal righteousness, he 
was chosen a trustee of Brown University, and maintained 
the most friendly relations with ministers of all faiths, many 
of whom were among his exchanges. The church enjoyed 
a large degree of prosperity under his ministry, and .attained 
a leading position in the charities of the town, — an influ- 
ence which it has maintained now for more than a century. 
Dr. Hitchcock is one of the prominent figures in Trumbull's 
great painting, in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington, 
of the surrender of Burgoyne, — a scene of which he was an 
eye-witness. After a brief illness he passed away in June, 
1803, at the early age of fifty-nine, sincerely mourned by his 
own people and the whole town. He was a many-sided man, 
— of great industry, of broad sympathies, of benevolent 
spirit, a willing worker, and a generous giver for the im- 
provement of society and the highest interests of man. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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